If you haven’t had a chance to socialize or network with your colleagues lately, the perfect opportunity awaits you at the FREE Denver Bar Association Annual Party on June 12 at 5:30 p.m. at the Denver Art Museum, 100 W. 14th Ave. Parkway. Cocktails, hot hors d’oeurves and fun are all a part of the evening. The DBA will also honor the following bar association members for their outstanding efforts to the legal system and profession.

Edwin S. Kahn is the recipient of the DBA Award of Merit, the association’s highest honor. A past president of the Denver Bar Association, Ed served on the American Civil Liberties Union’s Legal Panel and its Board of Directors. He was cofounder of the Colorado Lawyers Committee and served as a special prosecutor for the Supreme Court in two special matters. Ed served on the Supreme Courts Grievance Committee and Hearing Board as director of litigation for Colorado Legal Services and as board chair for the Colorado Center on Law and Policy. He has also taught at both the University of Denver and Colorado law schools. He is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Edwin S. Kahn Award of Merit

The Liberty Bell Award goes to Kevin Williams, General Counsel for the Legal Program at the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition (CCDC). Kevin started its legal advocacy branch, which represents people with mobility impairments, living with HIV/AIDS, and who are blind, deaf, have mental illness or developmental disabilities. Williams and the rest of the legal panel monitor disability rights litigation around the country and intervene when appropriate, by filing amicus briefs or providing input in class action settlements. He routinely presents at conferences and seminars and publishes on the topic of disability rights. He hosts the Denver Disability Rights Roundtable, a group of plaintiffs’ attorneys who meet monthly to consult about pressing issues in the area of disability rights.

Kevin Williams Liberty Bell Award

Leanne DeVos Volunteer Lawyer

The corecipients of the Volunteer Lawyer of the Year Award are Leanne DeVos and Karen DuWaldt. For the past 14 years, they have coordinated legal services for the Gathering Place, a day shelter for women and children who are homeless or on the verge of becoming homeless. In addition to coordinating pro bono services for the Gathering Place, they have also provided personal representation and persuaded colleagues to do the same. The Gathering Place says their help "truly is exemplary of volunteerism at its best." Karen is in the legal department at Qwest as a labor and employment lawyer and Leanne is a member of Sherman & Howard’s litigation department.

Karen DuWaldt Volunteer Lawyer

Dawn M. Adeletti is the Young Lawyer of the Year. Besides working as an associate at Montgomery, Kolodny, Amatuzio & Dusabek, she is the 2001-2002 chair of the Denver Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. She is a member of the American Bar Association YLD’s Hate Crimes Tolerance and Diversity Education Project, and the ABA YLD Public Education Committee. She is on the board of directors for the Colorado United Nations Division. For two years, she was on the Colorado Women’s Bar Association Board of Directors and assisted with running their public legal service projects. She’s been involved with classroom law programs, Law Day/Week events, model United Nations, legal clinics, ask-a-lawyer programs and publications.

Dawn M. Adeletti Young Lawyer

The Judicial Excellence Award goes to Warren O. Martin. He has served on the District Court Bench since 1980. During his tenure, he has enjoyed alternating between the civil and criminal divisions and served one year in the domestic relations division. Attorneys say he is courteous, treats all parties equally, maintains a professional demeanor, and performs with diligence, efficiency and minimal delay.

Warren O. Martin

A contract paralegal for 19 years, Jody Hobbs is the recipient of the Legal Assistant of the Year Award. She has received a Certificate of Commendation in 1998 for pro bono services at the Rocky Mountain Legal Assistants Association, the Battered Women’s Shelter, Metro Volunteer Lawyers and the Colorado Bar Association CBA Pro Bono Mentoring program. She has been at the Paralegal Coordinator for Faculty of Federal Advocates Pro Bono Mentoring Program for the last five years. She has also volunteered for Law on the Mall and the High School Mock Trial Competitions. Jody has served on the Rocky Mountain Paralegal Association Board and is a founder of the Colorado Freelance Paralegal Network.

Jody Hobbs Teacher of the Year

Susan Troeger is the Teacher of the Year. A high school teacher for Denver Public High School for 14 years, she has coached three teams in the We the People and the Constitution Competition at Thomas Jefferson High School and for the last three years, the mock trial team at John F. Kennedy High School. She has taught United States History, Government, Economics, World History, Ancient History and Medieval History. She is finishing her Substantive Research Project to receive her M.A. in Global Studies at the University of Denver.

Susan Troeger Teacher of the Year

The Peace Officer of the Year is Tamara Dreiling. As a Denver police officer for district three for 20 years, she puts on holiday and "Night Out Against Crime" events for indigent families, seniors and disabled adults in southeast Denver. In addition to planning the event, Officer Drieling even spends time in her own kitchen baking for these programs and cleaning up after the programs. Chief of Police Gerald Whitman says, "Officer Dreiling doesn’t consider this ‘extra effort’ as being exceptional."